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Enneagram and Myers Briggs Type Correlations

Although it was never possible to exclusively assign different Myers Briggs types to certain Enneagram points, extensive research has proven that a statistically significant correlation does exist between the two typologies.

Different studies provided somewhat different data, however there are many similarities among the results, so I will focus on these particular correlations that remain valid in a large number of cases.

The following table reflects the reseach results of many studies and theories (revealed to us by different experts such as John Fudjack, Patricia Dinkelaker, Don Riso, Richard Hudson, Elisabeth Wagele and others), but also my personal vision on the matter, based on my own theories.

I put the MB types in order of their prevalence in each Enneazone, from left to right for each frequency group (the meaning of 'often', 'sometimes' and 'rarely' is explained at the end of the table).

*Often means there is a probability of 70-79% for that Enneagram type to also score as one of the listed MB types

**Sometimes means there is a probability of 18-27% for that Enneagram type to also score as one of the listed MB types

***Rarely means there is a probability of less than 4% for that Enneagram type to also score as one of the listed MB types

I think it's important to remember that these associations are not set in stone, therefore there is no rule in what concerns the relationships between the two typologies. There are INTPs who are Fours, INFPs who are Ones or Eights, ESTJs who are Twos and all sorts of seemingly unlikely combinations. They are rare, but nonetheless they do exist. It's what makes the human personality so diverse and fascinating – you can never really nail it down to a stereotype and it will always find ways to surprise you whenever you try to label it or box it.

These correlation tables can be very useful when you're having some trouble deciding your type - let's say you know your Enneagram point to be 8 and you can't decide between ESFJ and ESTJ: according to statistics, the odds are that you're probably an ESTJ. This doesn't mean it's 100% certain that you are, but that there are higher chances. That's what statistics can do for us.

Here is a table with statistical survey data, first presented in an article by Andrea Isaacs and John Fudjack in the 'Enneagram Monthly', in March 1996.

This second table indicates the calculated i-values(density) for each type correlation. It is based on the data from the previous table:

And finally, the following chart provides some interesting hypotheses on the possible Jungian prototypes for each Enneazone and it's based on the i-values table.

Enneagram Type

Jungian Prototype

1

TJ

2

EF

3

ET

4

IN

5

IT

6

SJ

7

EN

8

ET

9

IF

In a future article, I will also discuss 'type misfits' – people who don't seem to act their type, people who are hard to label or categorize, and also strange combinations such as ESTP Twos or INFJ Sevens.

Comments

These are interesting, however, rather than stating which is frequent, occasional and rare, you could put the actual percentage of the correlations. Statistical significance, as anyone who has ever taken a stats class knows, can often be quite small and still be "significant."

Also, including the research methodology would be helpful. Most enneagram/MBTI studies only correlate how people test. In other words, people who *test* as four often *test* as INFJ and INFP, people who *test* as ENFP and ENTP often *test* as type seven. So, if your highest score is four, you're likely to also test as INFx. However, typing consultations and time with the system could yield very different results. For that reason, correlation studies could be misleading when typing oneself, since all they can predict is how you're likely to test.

You're right, Dasein, and it's a really good idea to specify the percentage. The only trouble is I need to find these exact figures, so I'll do some research and edit the post when and if I find them.

Not all studies that I considered for the table correlated mere test results, a couple of them were conducted by therapists that claimed to actually have interviewed people in person (through private sessions or workshops).

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